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Yellow | Central States Pension Letter "RED ZONE"

2631 said:
Not to get into an arguement with anyone, but the MEPFs are not "pryamid schemes. Those retirees earned that money & it was paid into the funds in lieu of cash in their paychecks. Those moneys are there in the funds earning interest. IMO it was a smart move on the part of YRC to be able to put the bulk of our raises into the pension & welfare funds instead of our paychecks. We are actually paying down their unfunded liability.......ABF wanted out of the MEPFs but did you notice how fast they agreed to YRC's plan. We have not heard 1 word about ABF pulling out since they accepted YRC's plan.
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2631...................... Bingo we have a winner!!!!! Absolutely correct!! Once the fund is funded properly it will be easier for whichever big company wants to pull out to do so!:nutkick: And this contract was passed. Shame on us.
 
the "red zone" letter

No the real problem is that we NEED NEW PEOPLE COMING INTO THE FUND .
More people in than out . But the way things stand is that there are more people going out than coming in.

But until we add more people, more money goes out to the retirees, than comes in from the folks still working. I still think it's a pyramid scheme. The people at the top, ie Union Management, get their benefits, but when it comes to the guys at the bottom of the pyramid there won't be anything left when they are ready to retire. (just like social security, more people taking out money than putting in).:soapbox:

What ever happened to all that money UPS paid to buyout of the fund? Where did it go?
 
Cols Travelers said:
No the real problem is that we NEED NEW PEOPLE COMING INTO THE FUND .
More people in than out . But the way things stand is that there are more people going out than coming in.
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Not to argue with you, but just how can we get new people into the fund? Do you honestly think that after UPSF was given their own contract that the FedExs & ConWays etc will ever sign a NMFA contract & put their people in any of our MEPFs?

Cols Travelers said:
But until we add more people, more money goes out to the retirees, than comes in from the folks still working. I still think it's a pyramid scheme. The people at the top, ie Union Management, get their benefits, but when it comes to the guys at the bottom of the pyramid there won't be anything left when they are ready to retire. (just like social security, more people taking out money than putting in).
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Unlike Social Security or some Pyramid Scheme, the funding increases from the new contract & any changes that the fund may have to make to be in compliance with the new pension laws will be enough to insure that there will be plenty left when you are ready to retire.

Cols Travelers said:
What ever happened to all that money UPS paid to buyout of the fund? Where did it go?
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Central States Funds
If you click on the 4th Quarter 2007 Report you will see that even though the stock market is down that the funds assets increased from $20,672,748,000 to $26,806,267,000 due to the $6.1 billion payment by UPS
 
we are building a new 250 door terminal in columbus, while I hear the yellow or USF terminal is nearly deserted. I want you guys to remain in business and have the standard of living you guys have. But the reality is you guys need to compete, and I don't mean 14/hour with no benefits. Top scale at fedex is 54cpm and 21.40/hour. I have a pension and 100% health care for $11 a week. What I'm saying is don't kill yellow by forcing them out of business with an overly high operating cost. Allow them to trim a few things to become profitable again.

lazylarry said:
Hey sounds like Estes Old Dominion and FredEx freight....you know...the guys building all the new terminals while we close and concolidate ?? Whats your real plan. ride this gravy train into the ground then go work for them ?
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zathlon said:
we are building a new 250 door terminal in columbus, while I hear the yellow or USF terminal is nearly deserted. I want you guys to remain in business and have the standard of living you guys have. But the reality is you guys need to compete, and I don't mean 14/hour with no benefits. Top scale at fedex is 54cpm and 21.40/hour. I have a pension and 100% health care for $11 a week. What I'm saying is don't kill yellow by forcing them out of business with an overly high operating cost. Allow them to trim a few things to become profitable again.
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I must agree with what you say, but in retrospect, there's no drivers i know here at Yellow, Roadway or USF that wants to see YRC fail. As can you read here, the drivers are trying to keep YRC ecomically healthy, otherwise a subpar contract like the NMFA would not have passed. I personally voted NO on this contract, but it is what it is & it is passed & we now have to live by it. We can't stay in competition with other LTL companies when management NOT the drivers make the most ignorant decisions & then get compensated multi-million dollar bonuses. When we as drivers were polled on what we wanted in this NMFA contract, H&W was top, followed by a sured up pension, job security & then wage increases. YRC wants to run this company similiar to the way FedEx, UPS & Conway run their's, but don't have the know how, nor do they want to put the right personnel in place to do this. This company brass REFUSE to listen to good logic & keep throwing ideas out that don't work, & its not because of the Union. I have seen the Union bend over backwords to help this company (sometimes i think to much) & yet the company continues to lunge towards stupid decisions. YRC "WILL" eventually move into the 21st century & get it right, they have to or it will be to late. Whether it means making a change at the top or bringing in the right people. I honestly believe the drivers are not the problem & neither is the Union, the problem lies solely on the people at the top. Besides, whether your Union or not, YRC needs to stay as a leader in this business, if our H&W, pension, & wages decrease, so will the non-unions. Whether non-union drivers want to believe it or not, the reason non-union drivers at the FedEx's, Conway's, etc... are making the wages they are, are because of the Union. If this Union company fails, unfortunately the quality of life the big non-union drivers have now, will also diminish & we will all become "Concrete Slaves" attached to a whipping post.
 
Whether non-union drivers want to believe it or not, the reason non-union drivers at the FedEx's, Conway's, etc... are making the wages they are, are because of the Union. If this Union company fails, unfortunately the quality of life the big non-union drivers have now, will also diminish & we will all become "Concrete Slaves" attached to a whipping post.
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You couldn't be more right, I wish some more non unions realized that the reasons they have it so good is because of the unions pulling the wages up. If YRC fails, I'll be looking for a new career.
 
zathlon said:
You couldn't be more right, I wish some more non unions realized that the reasons they have it so good is because of the unions pulling the wages up. If YRC fails, I'll be looking for a new career.
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Great Post. And you are 100% correct. Yes the reason all the other non Unions have the wages they have is because of the Union Carriers. Once thats gone We all are screwed.
 
Stan Smith said:

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So why all the "doom & gloom"? If the fund is projecting a $200 a month pension credit in 4 years then IMO thats great news.

No New Cuts

"The good news is that Central States Teamsters and retirees will not face any new benefit cuts".

"Those cuts were made four years ago. As a result, the fund has lowered its future benefit obligations. The cuts have driven the average retirement age up from 59 to 61. The fund has increased future income by requiring all new Teamster contracts to increase employer pension contributions by at least eight percent a year".

"These measures mean more money will be coming in and less flowing out, so the fund’s balance sheet is expected to improve in the coming years, moving gradually toward being fully funded".

Small Pension Increases

"Pension benefits will actually increase over the next several years—even with the fund in the Red Zone. That’s because the amount of retirement benefits that Teamsters earn each year (called “pension accrual”) is tied to employer contributions, which go up each year".

"By August 2012, a freight Teamster will accrue nearly $200 a month in pension for a year of work".
 
zathlon said:
we are building a new 250 door terminal in columbus, while I hear the yellow or USF terminal is nearly deserted. I want you guys to remain in business and have the standard of living you guys have. But the reality is you guys need to compete, and I don't mean 14/hour with no benefits. Top scale at fedex is 54cpm and 21.40/hour. I have a pension and 100% health care for $11 a week. What I'm saying is don't kill yellow by forcing them out of business with an overly high operating cost. Allow them to trim a few things to become profitable again.
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Let’s face it, the Teamsters Union keeps the Fed Ex’s of the world honest. Do you really believe that Fed Ex would offer such great pay and benefits if the Teamsters Union didn’t exist? No way, if union wages and benefits weren't what they are--you would not be on here bragging about how good you have it at Fed Ex.

Can we improve our union? Yes. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
Now let me ask you: what is so terrible about union drivers? What makes you want to avoid being a union driver?
 
2631 said:
Not to argue with you, but just how can we get new people into the fund? Do you honestly think that after UPSF was given their own contract that the FedExs & ConWays etc will ever sign a NMFA contract & put their people in any of our MEPFs?
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Since no one chose to give their opinion on this I will just add 1 thing. At our union meeting yesterday all the BAs gave an update on their recent attempts at organizing & contract renegotiations. None of them involved companies that would join in the NMFA..... I asked a BA about a particular company & he said that the owner laughed at the NMFA & said that he wanted the contract that UPSF was given.......The BA's opinion to me was that he doubted that there will ever be another company that would be willing to sign on to the NMFA.
 
2631 said:
Not to argue with you, but just how can we get new people into the fund? Do you honestly think that after UPSF was given their own contract that the FedExs & ConWays etc will ever sign a NMFA contract & put their people in any of our MEPFs?

Unlike Social Security or some Pyramid Scheme, the funding increases from the new contract & any changes that the fund may have to make to be in compliance with the new pension laws will be enough to insure that there will be plenty left when you are ready to retire.


Central States Funds
If you click on the 4th Quarter 2007 Report you will see that even though the stock market is down that the funds assets increased from $20,672,748,000 to $26,806,267,000 due to the $6.1 billion payment by UPS
Click to expand...


Sorry about the late reply, been trying to work and keep my pension up-to-date .....:biglaugh:

If you truly believe that, why does the minimum age of Social Security, like our pension fund, keep going up? Every time there's a contract up for renewal the fund is said to be solid. After the contract is ratified the fund goes into the RED ZONE. The retirement age always goes up. It's like the union doesn't want you to retire, they want you to die in that truck - then they don't have to pay a full pension. Like elected government officials, elected union officials are in like flint - for life, for pension and health benefits and multiple pensions

Central States is the glory hole for the International.

The way this pension fund is run, it reminds me of Enron. There's no guarantee the company will still be in business. There's no guarantee the union will still be alive. Do you remember the pension funds the airlines had? What happened to those pension plans? Pennies on the dollar! And if you truly believe there will be enough money in the Central States pension when you retire, I laugh again :hysterical: I hope you have other retirement funds available, besides the Teamsters pension and Social Security.
 
zippersbs said:
I must agree with what you say, but in retrospect, there's no drivers i know here at Yellow, Roadway or USF that wants to see YRC fail. As can you read here, the drivers are trying to keep YRC ecomically healthy, otherwise a subpar contract like the NMFA would not have passed. I personally voted NO on this contract, but it is what it is & it is passed & we now have to live by it. We can't stay in competition with other LTL companies when management NOT the drivers make the most ignorant decisions & then get compensated multi-million dollar bonuses. When we as drivers were polled on what we wanted in this NMFA contract, H&W was top, followed by a sured up pension, job security & then wage increases. YRC wants to run this company similiar to the way FedEx, UPS & Conway run their's, but don't have the know how, nor do they want to put the right personnel in place to do this. This company brass REFUSE to listen to good logic & keep throwing ideas out that don't work, & its not because of the Union. I have seen the Union bend over backwords to help this company (sometimes i think to much) & yet the company continues to lunge towards stupid decisions. YRC "WILL" eventually move into the 21st century & get it right, they have to or it will be to late. Whether it means making a change at the top or bringing in the right people. I honestly believe the drivers are not the problem & neither is the Union, the problem lies solely on the people at the top. Besides, whether your Union or not, YRC needs to stay as a leader in this business, if our H&W, pension, & wages decrease, so will the non-unions. Whether non-union drivers want to believe it or not, the reason non-union drivers at the FedEx's, Conway's, etc... are making the wages they are, are because of the Union. If this Union company fails, unfortunately the quality of life the big non-union drivers have now, will also diminish & we will all become "Concrete Slaves" attached to a whipping post.
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If the union companies fail,will anyone not blame the union drivers - like in the past? Will they understand that we just drive the trucks, we don't make corporate decisions on how the dollars are spent? The responsibility of these companies failing will fall to the CEO's and board members, and collarpse of the US infra stucture - the trucking system. One step closer to the demise of the middle class and the country will be one step closer to a 2 tier system (Rich; Poor)
 
Cols Travelers said:
Sorry about the late reply, been trying to work and keep my pension up-to-date .....:biglaugh:

If you truly believe that, why does the minimum age of Social Security, like our pension fund, keep going up? Every time there's a contract up for renewal the fund is said to be solid. After the contract is ratified the fund goes into the RED ZONE. The retirement age always goes up. It's like the union doesn't want you to retire, they want you to die in that truck - then they don't have to pay a full pension. Like elected government officials, elected union officials are in like flint - for life, for pension and health benefits and multiple pensions

Central States is the glory hole for the International.

The way this pension fund is run, it reminds me of Enron. There's no guarantee the company will still be in business. There's no guarantee the union will still be alive. Do you remember the pension funds the airlines had? What happened to those pension plans? Pennies on the dollar! And if you truly believe there will be enough money in the Central States pension when you retire, I laugh again :hysterical: I hope you have other retirement funds available, besides the Teamsters pension and Social Security.
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The airlines are not multiemployer funds, central states is. Just because upsf is not central states now doesn't mean it can't be in the next contract. What they have now is a start not an end. nmfa from the start wasn't an option but could be negotiated next time. The same attitude is needed for organizing other companies, the first contract is a start not an end. And without the start this union is doomed, we are dwarfed by the non-union competition, thats why we have the current contract, not because of junior or tyson, they have less impact than competition that is larger than us.
 
We're passed the "start". We are now in the middle. And if things don't change it will be the end soon. I don't consider a "start" at the beginning of each contract. It's just a continuation of the same, with additions and subtractions that the UNION OFFICIALS (ie junior and tyson) and MANAGEMENT have deemed necessary. Why did UPSF, a freight hauling organization, become part of a parcel post agreement? Why did the UNION let freight work go to parcel group? Just look at all those "new" members we could have, contributing to the Central States Fund. That's one way to add new people, which is what one Truckingboard writer said we needed. And someone let it slip away........again...............
 
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